Which petrol station do you use?

[Gremlin]

Because my bike has such shitty fuel range I use which ever retailer means I don't find myself crawling through the desert to a fuel oasis crying "petrol... petrol...".
This means I stop at about every second petrol station.

On the opposite end, if I ride at a respectable pace, I can go from Auckland to Wellington non-stop. It was incredibly peaceful filling in Kaikoura knowing I was able to get to Dunedin without issue during the aftermath of the earthquake.

Only problem is getting back on normal range bikes... gas is constantly on your mind. Or filling with 34-36L and looking at the cost.

[jasonu]

There's been a fair bit of misinformation in these posts. I worked for Caltex for over 20 years, worked as their Technical Manager in NZ for a year and a bit, represented the company on the team which liaised with Govt and introduced unleaded petrol in NZ, and worked for over 8 years in cCltex's International Technical Center in Sydney (mainly on lubricants, but did some work on fuels). I am a bit biased about Caltex, I like their petrol additive technology. Worked on getting Caltex their BMW approval for their additised petrol, and that's a story and a half. Haven't worked in the industry for nearly 10 years now though.

There's 2 different octanes. Octane is the measure of a fuels resistance to knocking, preigniting. RON and MON, one is Research Octane Number and refers to the fuels resistance to knock under high speed, other is Motor Octane Number and refers to the fuels resistance to knock under low speed high load conditions (such as pulling away from a corner in a higher gear. The NZ fuel specs have a minimum limit for both RON and MOn, there;s usually a 10 number difference, MON is lower. The less difference, the better the fuel is. So 91 has lower limits of 81/91 for MON/RON, 95 has limits of 85/95 MON/RON. There are also limits on the aromatic content, volatiliy, olefin levels, and a whole lot of other factors. American "octane" is RON + MON / 2, so 'standard 91' here is 86 there, 95 here is 90 or 91 there. It's that simple

Auckland is the only area which gets pure Marsden Point petrol through the piupeline. BP, Caltex, Mobil and Shell (or Greenstone actually) are all partners on WOSL, Wiri pipeline terminal. Gull tankers into Auckland from Mt Maunganui I think. A lot of the rest of the petrol used in NZ is imported, usually from Thailand or Singapore. Marsden Pt petrol is VERY good, when Caltex did it's BMW tests in California we had to ship 200 Litre drums of unadditised petrol to San Fransisco for the tests. They landed the day of the earthquake there and went missing for 2 weeks. Was found, additised and the test was run, and BMW rang the additive company asking what new technology they had because the results were the best they'd ever seen - that was largely down to the quality of the Marsden Pt petrol and the additive technology combined.

But the base fuel in any area is completely the same, tanker comes in and fills all the comapny's tanks. It's the additive which makes the difference. Petrol leaves deposits on the back of valves in fuel injected engines, and gums through carburettors. These valve deposits absorb fuel when a rich spray is produced on start up),making starting difficult, then the fuel evaporates out of the deposit when the engine has warmed making the engine run rough. The additive should clean these valve deposits, and clean out carburettor gum. On the BMW test, they weighed the valves before and after running 5,000 miles I think, could have been more. The Caltex valves had no weight gain, absolutely no increase in weight - BMW had never seen anything like it.

Using 95 if your engine only needs 91. I don't believe it helps. If the engine has an electronic management system and knock sensor then it will advance on the higher octane fuel and you may see a small increase of fuel economy but I don't think its worth it. Using Gull, I wouldn't as some polymers used in fuel systems might not be compatible with ethanol. I just use Caltex Techron 91 in GLORIA (though there are some on this forum who think Hyosungs would run on pig urine - they won't by the way).

Very nice information!!!!!

[jasonu]

Key snapped in Ignition Barrel at a Petrol Station in Palmerston North

How the hell did that happen?

[jafar]

On the opposite end, if I ride at a respectable pace, I can go from Auckland to Wellington non-stop. It was incredibly peaceful filling in Kaikoura knowing I was able to get to Dunedin without issue during the aftermath of the earthquake.

Only problem is getting back on normal range bikes... gas is constantly on your mind. Or filling with 34-36L and looking at the cost.

Your claiming in excess of 32k per litre from a 900 hornet???
Auckland to Wellington = 650k
Hornet tank = 20 litres (assuming a standard honda tank)

I find that a little hard to believe

[The Everlasting]

I use BP Ultimate 98 for the car,and Shell V-Power for the bike.

[Quasievil]

I Use Mobil cause its free

[nallac]

Your claiming in excess of 32k per litre from a 900 hornet???
Auckland to Wellington = 650k
Hornet tank = 20 litres (assuming a standard honda tank)

I find that a little hard to believe

Hes got a slightly road surface modded GSA BMW now....or did have.....

[jafar]

Hes got a slightly road surface modded GSA BMW now....or did have.....

Thats a bit more like it.

[Gremlin]

I find that a little hard to believe

Yes, as nallac says, I also have a 2010 R1200 GSA. My hand isn't nearly that gentle to get that consumption from a hornet 900 The BMW is rated for a 33L tank, I get more like 35-36L into it.

Hes got a slightly road surface modded GSA BMW now....or did have.....

Still have... its just ur... hiding from me, at the dealer... They reckon its a repair, just waiting for insurance to give the tick to the piece of paper. Oh, and its field surface modded, thank you very much.

[StoneY]

Caldina Turbo will be retarding timing due to knock from the lower octane fuel and making less power.

Ah, I see. I always thought it was to do with the low compression pistons used in most Turbos and a higher gas expansion from the higher octane.... but I am not a mechanic or scientist of course

Actually the higher the octane the more resistant to igniting and the slower burning the fuel is. 91 octane is more explosive/lower flashpoint than 95/98 under identical conditions (temp/pressure etc). The comparatively slower burning flamefront on higher octane fuel helps when ignition occurs by controlling the rate of combustion inside the cylinder, good in high compression or turbo engines under boost.

But...don't most Turbo Engines have lower compression to allow for more use of the turbo pressure without busting gaskets???

I'm confused (not a hard state to achieve either)

[jasonu]

[QUOTE=Gremlin;1130019405]The BMW is rated for a 33L tank, I get more like 35-36L into it.


Or so the petrol pump meter says...
Maybe a word to the weights and measurements people is in order.

[Smifffy]

[QUOTE=jasonu;1130019446]

The BMW is rated for a 33L tank, I get more like 35-36L into it.


Or so the petrol pump meter says...
Maybe a word to the weights and measurements people is in order.

I'd say the 33L will be because of some highly technical BMW boffin specification about the amount of headspace above the fuel for one reason or another, and Gremlin tops it up to the brim.

[davebullet]

Shell 95 so I can use my cuntdown vouchers and save a piddly 4c per litre.

I need a diesel / bio-fuel conversion kit for speedy

[Hopeful Bastard]

How the hell did that happen?

Fuck knows... I thought it snapped in the door as i locked it..... Turns out it was actually in the barrel as i turned the car off

[Gremlin]

Or so the petrol pump meter says...
Maybe a word to the weights and measurements people is in order.

The pump is Ok, when I compare mileage to consumption, both on paper and the bike's calcs.

I'd say the 33L will be because of some highly technical BMW boffin specification about the amount of headspace above the fuel for one reason or another, and Gremlin tops it up to the brim.

You stalking me or something? Correct, I fill on the centre stand, to the max, and never leave the bike standing for a length of time, or overnight, to prevent overflow, or damaging the tank. It only takes half an hour to remove a couple of litres...